Doug Johnstone

So I was on BBC Two quiz show Eggheads last night, part of a team called the Criminal Element featuring myself, Val McDermid, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre and Martyn Waites. And we only went and won!

It was a terrific experience, loads of fun, and the Eggheads and Jeremy Vine were all really lovely. I had the Geography category that no one else wanted, and almost took down Kevin, the real brainiac, but was let down in a tie-break by my knowledge of English counties. Ho hum. Anyhoo, if you missed it, you can watch it in the UK on BBC iplayer. Below is the moment we found out we’d won – sweet!

(both pics pinched from fellow writer Craig Sisterson’s Facebook page.)

Dx

I started writing a new book this week. A few thousand words in. Feels weird already. Anyhoo, working title is Fault Lines, and here are some visual clues what it’s about. Kind of.

Myself, Chris Brookmyre, Val McDermid, Mark Billingham and Martyn Waites are on Eggheads on Thursday 26th May, 6pm on BBC 2. Will I punch anyone? Will I swear? Tune in to find out.

It’s not online, but trust me, it’s a doozy. Here’s the final paragraph:

Thanks, Sabina, whoever you are!

Very excited to be appearing at the Ullapool Book Festival this Friday evening with pal Helen FitzGerald. It’s a brilliant festival, see the full weekend programme here.

illustration by Dom McKenzie

Trying to keep more up to date with my review column in Big Issue, so here’s the latest, reviews of novels by Neil Mackay and Lucy Ribchester. Enjoy!

So yesterday was my last day as Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Queen Margaret University. I was there for two years, helping students and staff with all aspects of academic writing. I’m still going to be working with the RLF on other projects, but that’s my time up at QMU. I’ll miss the students, staff and cool campus (see pic) – good luck to all with their studies!

Doug

It’s the book that keeps on rolling. Here’s a brand new lovely review of Gone Again by Sarah Hardy over at By The Letter blog. Thanks, Sarah!